Retired Col. Donald J.M. Blakeslee, one of the top scoring aces of World War II, died Sept. 3 at age 90 in Miami, Fla., per a notice in the Sun Sentinel. According to the official Air Force record, Blakeslee scored 11.5 victory credits as a member of the Army Air Forces. However, various accounts note that he flew first with the Royal Canadian Air Force, making three kills by 1942 when he transferred to an American Eagle Squadron with the Royal Air Force and shot down two more enemy aircraft before the AAF incorporated his unit in September 1942. He flew Spitfires, P-47, and P-51 fighters. He took command of the 4th Fighter Group in January 1944.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. needs to prepared for future conflicts in which its adversaries will be able to closely track the location of American forces and attack with autonomous systems that use artificial intelligence.
